A long-standing ankle injury will ensure Sydney ruckman Kurt Tippett spends at least another week in AFL exile.

Tippett’s patchy form meant he played no part in the Swans’ recent wins over the Western Bulldogs and Richmond.

The 30-year-old’s hopes of a recall for the club’s crunch clash with Essendon at the SCG on Friday night are already over.

Tippett pulled up sore on Monday following a second game in the seconds, with coach John Longmire confirming the out-of-favour big man wouldn’t be right to face the Bombers.

“It’s just been getting a little bit worse and worse,” Longmire said of Tippett’s ankle injury.

“He’s had it for a couple of weeks. It’s been grumbling along but it got a bit worse.

“We’ve got to make sure we get him right so he can play.”

The news is better for former Swans co-captain Jarrad McVeigh, who hasn’t played since tweaking his hamstring in round eight.

McVeigh is moving well and will be in the mix for a call-up if he makes a good impression at Wednesday’s training session.

“He trained Saturday and trained again today. He trained quite well,” Longmire said.

“We’ll see how he goes Wednesday. That will be an important session for him.

“We’ll see how he pulls up.”

The Swans’ finals hopes appeared over during a miserable 0-6 start to the year but they’ve since banked five wins from six games.

Remarkably, Longmire’s men could be in the top eight at the end of round 14 if they defeat Essendon and other results go their way.

“We know we’ve got very little room for error,” Longmire said of his 12th-placed team, one of many scrapping for finals spots.